J.S. Meresmaa

"The sky darkened. The air whistled with the soft strokes of hundreds of wings. I raised my eyes to the huge flock of jackdaws that flew over the courtyard low enough to graze the rooftops. Their clacking, squeaking calls shrunk the courtyard to the size of a closet.

When the tail end of the flock disappeared behind the buildings and the daylight sifted through the clouds again, disappointment scraped at my heart. I don’t know where I got the crazy, overwhelming hope that the birds would take me with them."

Excerpt from The Jackdaw Master,

page 36,

Translation: Sarianna Silvonen

From a review:

"The story begins as a historical novel but starts to formulate fantastical and alternative elements the further it develops. Between the narration parts there are newspaper clippings inspired by the actual articles and adverts published in Aamulehti newspaper of the time, and slowly they start to shine a different light on what the past really was like in Tampere in 1900. There is enough factual history to open up a disturbing "what if" state in the reader's mind, and enough wild steampunk technology and fantasy for imagination to fly. Yet a big part of the story still concentrates on the relations between characters, the use of power, xenophobia and fear -- and in the end, redemption and sacrifice."

- Reeta Saine, IBBY Finland

Mifonki-sarja

(The Mifonki Series)

Contact Kumma Literary Agency for more materials: kula@osuuskumma.fi

Keskilinnan ritarit

(The Knights of Midcastle)

"Meresmaa shows masterful skill in handling the genre and characters eventhough erotica is one of the most difficult literary genres to triumph."